HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 156 [156] Master Qi's money is returned in full, and the investors' money is gradually distributed.

Qi Yuan gradually adapted to the filming pace in Hong Kong.

Du Qifeng kept his promise and finished filming "The Mission" in just 19 days, one day less than the 20 days he had promised Qi Yuan.

Li Bingbing's character in this movie has a rather tragic story.

Du Qifeng received a new round of investment and originally planned to add more scenes for the eldest sister-in-law to enrich the female characters in the film.

Because the five gunmen and Simon Yam performed so well, Du Qifeng felt there was no need to enrich the female characters' scenes, so he deleted all the scenes that were originally planned to be added, which made Li Bingbing and Wang Jinghua very upset.

He traveled all the way from the mainland to Hong Kong, only to play a minor role in a movie with just a few minutes of screen time.

Undeniably, the character of the eldest sister-in-law plays a significant role in advancing the plot, but the problem is that she has too few scenes, leaving Li Bingbing with no room to showcase her talents.

Qi Yuan ignored them.

Why would he ask Du Qifeng to give Li Bingbing more screen time if Li Bingbing didn't switch jobs to his side?
Just because her sister is working for him? That's not enough of a reason.

After filming wrapped on "The Mission," Qi Yuan did not immediately return to the mainland. He met with Wang Tianlin and his son Wang Jing.

When Qi Yuan expressed his desire to invest in film and television last time, Wang Tianlin kept it in mind. When he got home, he told Wang Jing that this was a good opportunity to go north, which led to today's dinner.

"Uncle Tianlin, Brother Jing."

Qi Yuan plans to invest in film and television.

Having witnessed Du Qifeng's practice of taking a million yuan before filming on the set of "Gunfire," he could no longer trust unfamiliar film crews.

Du Qifeng is considered a conscientious director in the industry. If you encounter a worse director, you might invest ten million and only pocket three to five million, with only a little over half actually going towards production.

Anyway, they can make up whatever they want about where the money went.

Wang Jing and his son are good business partners.

Wang Jing went north to the mainland to make big money, to make long-term money. He wouldn't be so short-sighted and stupid as to cheat Qi Yuan.

The mainland market is so big that Hong Kong directors who went north a few years ago and Taiwanese directors who were struggling financially have already reaped the benefits.

The Wang family father and son certainly know the difference between a full meal and a full stomach.

Wang Jing, that fat guy, was even more cunning than Qi Yuan had imagined: "Ah Yuan, you're so famous, in my opinion, you don't need to raise your own money to make a living in film and television. I can direct, I can write scripts, and I can assemble a professional film crew."

You play the male lead, and we'll use your name to approach mainland investors for funding. We won't spend a single penny; we'll make money without lifting a finger.

Wang Jing provided a detailed plan.

For example, Qi Yuan and Wang Jing each contribute five million, then go to the mainland and tell investors they've secured ten million in investment, claiming it's a big production, and ask the mainland investors for money.

With the backing of renowned Hong Kong director Wang Jing and the brand name of Qi Yuan, mainland investors can easily part with their money.

The rest of the filming can be done using the investors' money; they don't need to touch a single penny of their money.

This tactic is called getting something for nothing.

Wang Jing practically said that once the investors' money was in hand, Mr. Qi, he would return all his money, and they would split the investors' money gradually. He would first pay himself a fee before discussing how to film the movie.

Fatty Wang knows how to have fun.

Qi Yuan had seen this kind of operation many times in his previous life, so he was not surprised by it.

Before internet capital entered the market, many film crews operated this way, and coal mine owners were ripped off and cried out in despair.

Any production team that takes money from coal mine owners and is willing to make a serious film is considered a conscientious production team.

There are plenty of people who take money from coal mine owners and produce some worthless shoddy goods to fool them, basically taking advantage of the coal mine owners' lack of expertise.

"Brother Jing, brilliant!"

"Ah Yuan, it's tough!"

Qi Yuan and Wang Jing toasted each other; this fat guy was indeed a talent.

Wang Jing continued, "Brother, I'll bring in the production team, and you, brother, your fame will attract investment. If we adapt another well-known novel, it will have a better market. I think 'The Legendary Twins' is good; I really like Gu Long's novel. If you want to do it, brother, we can buy the film and television rights to this novel and write a script. I'll take care of the screenwriting."

Wang Jing started out as a screenwriter, so there's no doubt about his screenwriting skills.

To Qi Yuan's surprise, Wang Jing mentioned "The Legendary Twins." Aren't the main characters of this novel Xiao Yu'er and Hua Wuque?
By North!

Could it be the movie that Wang Jing later filmed in mainland China?
The most memorable character is Jiang Yuyan, a truly ruthless person who killed everything except the title of the show.

Wang Jing probably had the idea of ​​adapting this novel a long time ago, but he was busy making movies before.

He only thought of going north to film TV series because the Hong Kong film market has been sluggish in the last two years.

Qi Yuan has truly benefited greatly from this trip to Hong Kong. Not only did he participate in the excellent film "The Mission," but he also reached a consensus with Wang Jing, a renowned director in Hong Kong.

Qi Yuan was famous enough to have the idea of ​​investing in film and television, while Wang Jing planned to go north to explore the mainland market. Their interests aligned, so they agreed to go together.

Wang Jing acted swiftly, immediately announcing that he was going to buy the film and television rights to "The Legendary Twins" and invite Qi Yuan to co-produce a TV series with him.

He also stated that his Best Partner Company and Qi Yuan's Star Wish Studio are both investors, and they welcome more investors to join their team.

That's how efficient Hong Kong directors are.

Back then, Wang Jing dared to ask for investment with only two lines of script.

The first line reads "The Prankster Expert".

The second row features Andy Lau and Stephen Chow.

These two lines contain the entire script.

You only write the script after you've secured investment and started filming. In Hong Kong, you're almost embarrassed to say you've worked as a screenwriter if you haven't been a flyer.

While still in Hong Kong, Wang Jinghua saw the news that Wang Jing and Qi Yuan had invested in making a TV series.

"Li Xue wasn't exaggerating, Qi Yuan really wants to invest in film and television?"

Wang Jinghua was secretly alarmed.

Qi Yuan is quite ambitious; he wants to evolve from a pop king into a rising star in the entertainment industry.

Wang Jinghua looked at Li Bingbing with a serious expression: "Bingbing, why don't you switch jobs to Qi Yuan's side?"

"?!?!" Li Bingbing was dumbfounded.

These days, Wang Jinghua stayed in Hong Kong with her, because she was afraid that Qi Yuan and Li Xue would poach her away.

Now Wang Jinghua is actually taking the initiative to ask her to go and seek refuge with Qi Yuan?

People are indeed fickle.

“Bingbing, don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to kick you out. What I mean is, you should take me and all the artists under my management and switch to Qi Yuan’s company,” Wang Jinghua corrected.

"!!!" Li Bingbing's pupils dilated in shock.

Isn't that even scarier?

Have you forgotten how you insulted Qi Yuan a few days ago? He was cunning, full of bad intentions, and always wanting more than he had…

It's only been a few days, and you're already thinking of switching jobs to Qi Yuan's company?
Wang Jinghua was indeed tempted.

As long as Qi Yuan is willing to give her a certain amount of equity, she is willing to merge her artist studio into Xingyuan Studio.

In this way, she can put people into the new drama that Qi Yuan and Wang Jing are working on together, and the artists will still be under her control, without affecting her ability to continue finding work for the artists outside.

For her, this was definitely a good thing with no downsides.

So the question is, will Qi Yuan agree to her request?

　In these past few chapters, I've been laying the groundwork for the protagonist's investment in film and television, which will allow him to promote his female characters in the future. Singers will remain a main theme, but not the sole focus. The protagonist definitely won't include Wang Jinghua; her ambitions are too great. Some readers have suggested Chang Jihong, which could be a good option for opening a talent agency and managing artists, since she's provided with resources and the artists should be helping the protagonist make money. What suggestions do you all have? I'd like to gather everyone's ideas. I'll see every single comment in this chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)